Changing Seas
by LifeInTheGrey
Summary: Lily and James Potter were not immune to the war. With a possible divorce on the horizon, life for the Potters will never be the same. James never thought he would be a single parent of two kids and have his niece enter into the picture. The daughter of the sister he thought was dead. How much of this storm can James sail through alone? Is he really alone? See inside.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing

 **Summary:** People fall in and out of love all the time. Lily and James Potter were no different. With a possible divorce on the horizon, life for the Potters will never be the same. James never thought he would be a single parent of two kids. Then his sister's daughter is brought into his life. The daughter of the sister he thought was dead. How much of this storm can James sail through alone? Is he really alone after all?

 **"Changing Seas"**

 **Chapter 1**

The kids – ten-year-old Harry and nine-year-old Posey – were running around the house chasing each other, ranting and raving. James and Lily were sitting at the breakfast table both in their own worlds. Lily was staring into her coffee as James was reading the Daily Prophet. Just another morning at the Potter house. Lily got up and released the children into the backyard, finding it difficult to bring herself to talk James about what she had to say with all the yelling children underfoot. Lily returned to her seat. Her pink teacup was still half-full when she returned to it.

"It's quiet. Where did the kids go?" asked James, looking up from the paper, not even noticing Lily had moved.

"I sent them outside. They were driving me nuts," replied Lily.

"All these articles about Dumbledore are ridiculous. He is completely sane and would never take the Minister of Magic position," James grumbled.

"Of course not," Lily nodded in agreement.

"Is something wrong Lily? You seem a bit distracted?" asked James folding up the paper.

"Actually, yes. I want to talk to you about something," said Lily clearing her throat.

"I'm all ears, Lily-pad," said James.

"Well, I've been thinking about us," Lily said. "Things have been a bit tense for a while."

"I can always take some time off and go somewhere, just the two of us," offered James staring into Lily's eyes, the wheels inside his head turning. The green eyes looking back at him showed him sadness, regret and a tinge of anger.

"Can I please say what I have to say without any interruptions?" asked Lily, struggling to keep herself together.

Looking into his hazel eyes was making this more difficult than Lily though it would. But she knew she had to say it face to face. It wasn't fair to James, or the kids. The love in his eyes made it more difficult to say.

"James, I think we should go our separate ways for a while," she announced, tears trickling down her cheeks.

James's face fell nearly to the floor. His eyes became soft with shock and his mouth opened, but nothing came out. He couldn't believe what Lily was saying. Things had been dull, but he didn't think it was anything worth leaving over. He forced himself to keep his emotions in check.

"I know you feel it too. I think some time away would do us good. I already have arrangements. It think it's best for the kids to stay with you right now," said Lily.

"Okay."

"The kids are going over to Molly's for the week. It gives us time to think and figure things out," said Lily.

"Yeah."

"Are you okay with this?" Lily asked.

James didn't give a response. Of course he wasn't okay with this. Lily was leaving him and the kids. She was staying with someone else. She had planned this ahead of time. He was far from okay.

"I'll make sure the kids get to the Weasleys' before I go to work," said Lily.

"Okay."

"They come back next week today," reminded Lily.

"Alright."

"I'm going to see if they packed yet," said Lily.

"I'm heading to work soon," James replied.

Soon as Lily walked through the door James hung his head, wrapping his hands around his neck. He couldn't believe this was happening. He pinched himself, hoping it wasn't real. He wasn't asleep, but the nightmare didn't end. His mind was blank. He sat, frozen, while fifteen minutes vanished, and then, realizing the time, apparated to work.

The day ticked by so slowly. James stared the clock for long periods of time. Today was Monday, report filing day, when the Aurors reviewed cold cases. It was his least favourite day, even when he could think about anything other than Lily for ten seconds at a time. It was unusually quiet in the office today, because Sirius was out this week. He had gone camping with his kids and Emmeline.

"Earth to James. I need your opinion on a theory about a cold case." Frank waved a file in front of James's face.

"Can't you ask Alice?" James asked distantly.

"First off, she has her own reports to review, and secondly she isn't going to be objective," said Frank.

"What's the theory and which case?" asked James.

"Sally Bones. I've been going over the evidence for the past few hours. I think we have enough to charge Travers with her murder. I know he's already in Azkaban. But it would give her family some peace of mind," Frank explained. "What do you think?"

"It's very possible. We caught him at the scene of the McKinnon attack. Edgar and Sally weren't that far from the McKinnons." said James "But honestly, it isn't going to give Edgar much comfort. It didn't give Marlene any comfort knowing Travers was in Azkaban, but it's worth a shot. Why don't you talk to Kingsley about re-opening it?"

Frank walked off hesitantly. It didn't take a genius to figure out that James was not himself. He was usually a manic on Mondays, going through at least a hundred cases, but it was already mid-day and it looked like he had barely gotten twenty done. Frank decided to deal with the younger Auror after he got this case opened.

James' stomach turned as he read the report about the attack on Dorcas Lupin a few days ago. Dorcas ended up on top in the duel, but she came close to losing her life. He remembered Remus calling him at three in the morning, worried because Dorcas was two hours late from work. He didn't know why they had given this report to him for review. It certainly wasn't because he was impartial. Howell had to know that this was the wife of one of his best friends.

"Potter! I need that report for the Lupin case!" barked Bartemius Crouch.

James quickly signed the report and held it up for the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Bartemius took it and brought it to the door just as Amelia Bones, the Auror in charge of the case, arrived. She took the file and flipped through it.

"Any suspects yet?" asked Amelia.

"We have a line-up tomorrow. Potter I need you in at five tomorrow morning," said Bartemius.

James groaned under his breath. That was the last thing he wanted to do, but he wasn't going to argue. This was, after all, his job. At least he didn't have to work out what he was going to do with the kids for a week.

"I'll be there. I chose to pick up this case and I don't want this to get any messier than it already is," said Amelia.

"The official line up starts at eight. We will be rounding up suspects and working with witnesses in the early morning," said Bartemius.

"May I ask why you are working down in the Auror office, sir?" asked Amelia.

"Howell had to take a few personal days due to medical reasons," stated Bartemius.

"Ah I see," said Amelia "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Potter, can I borrow you for a minute?" asked Bartemius. Not that James had a choice.

"Sure," he said, closing the file he had been reviewing.

The Head Auror's office was stuffy and dark. The air was thick with dust. August Howell was rarely in his office. He was one of the few heads that went into the field. When he was in the building, he was always out in the deck, the Auror cubicles, helping his Aurors whenever and whenever he could. James would miss August when he eventually retired or moved on to another department.

"I'm certain you have heard about my retirement by now," said Bartemius "A lot of people are going to be moving around. It's only expected with any new Head."

"Of course," nodded James.

"I would like to offer you the job of Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," said Bartemius.

James rubbed his neck. Out of all the times this offer would be given to him. It was a great honour to be offered the job, especially since he wasn't even Head Auror. But he knew couldn't take it. Unlike Bartemius he had to be, no he wanted to be there for his kids. He couldn't take on even more hours, not when he was about to become a single parent.

"Before you make a decision, you should sleep on it," Bartemius continued when James failed to speak. "It's a huge opportunity, and you know how often those come up." James did know. It was an once-in-a-lifetime promotion. He still couldn't take it.

"I'll sleep on it," he agreed robotically, though he knew the answer wouldn't change.

James slumped in his chair. He looked at the giant pile of reports on his desk. He blew air out and ran a hand through his hair. He wasn't sure this day could get more stressful. He was immediately proven wrong as three men in French Aurors' uniforms walked into the office. Bartemius came out of the Head Auror's office and greeted them.

"How may I help you gentlemen?" asked Bartemius in perfect French.

"We need to speak to Mr. James Potter," said the Auror with the most decorated uniform.

"He's right here," Bartemius said leading the three men to James. He stood and extended his hand to each of them in turn.

"I'm the head of the French Magical Law Enforcement and Defence Department. The name is Simon Devereaux, but call me Simon," said the decorated Auror. His English held only a trace of an accent.

"Pleasure to meet you Simon," said James.

"This is Auror Hugo Dautin from the French Auror Department and this is the Head of the German Auror Department, Franz Kesselring," introduced Simon.

"Nice to meet you both."

"Mr. Potter have you had any contact with your sister in the past six months?" asked Hugo.

"Please call me James, Mr Potter was my father and is my uncle. My sister died in June of 1975" said James, clearing his throat.

"Well, this may be an issue," said Hugo.

"Pardon me, but why are you asking me about my dead sister?" asked James.

"We have a situation that is related to your sister," said Simon.

"We know she's very much alive, but she's unreachable to us unless we want to be fighting with one of the most powerful families in all of France," sighed Franz.

"That's impossible. I was at her funeral," said James.

"Oh no," gasped Alice, covering her mouth.

"What?" James asked. "Spill it Alice."

"Lily has been be intercepting letters from France to you. She thought it was some sort of girlfriend. I told her you wouldn't do that, but she didn't believe me," blurted Alice.

James rubbed his temples "Okay say if my sister is alive, why are you here?"

"We found her youngest daughter near the border of Germany and France in a coma caused by a very potent Draught of Living Death. We believe this was due to an issue with the legitimacy of the girl. French families will do anything to keep the family line clean, most will kill an illegitimate child, but they did not kill her or they tried and failed. From what we gathered, someone staged it to look like she was dead. There was a letter that explains that we must give her to the closest next of kin. Without any information on her father, that leaves you," Simon said, choosing his words delicately.

Alice was the first to go up to James trying to break him out of his comatose shock. She was close friends with James's sister, Jennifer, who had been in Frank's year. Alice was nearly as shocked as James, but she knew Jennifer would tell her to stop acting like such a pansy and get on with it. She certainly was going to help however she could. She owed Jennifer that much.

"How old is she?" asked Alice "I was – or am – a close friend of Jennifer's."

"Alice Longbottom?" asked Hugo.

"Yeah," said Alice staring uneasily at the Frenchman.

"Mrs. Voclain had you listed on the birth certificate of her youngest child as godmother," said Hugo.

"I didn't even know she had one child let alone a youngest daughter. She vanished right after her graduation. We all assumed she was dead," Alice admitted, trying not to yell and swear at her absent friend for being so secretive in the first place.

"How old is she?" interrupted James, finally focusing again.

"She's nine," Simon answered.

"I can't see my sister faking her death to go marry some guy in France just to cheat on him" James said, clearing his throat again.

"It's not uncommon for pureblood families in France to have affairs. Most are fairly open about it. The more affairs you have, the higher your status. It's only a problem if a man raises a child in a family the child doesn't belong to by blood or adoption," Simon explained.

"A former lover in Germany was able to tell us it was an arranged marriage. It wasn't one either party really had a choice, some sort of ancient contract. It may have been easier to have you think she was dead," offered Franz.

James shook his head firmly. "My parents wouldn't do that. They were strongly against arranged marriages and would have found a way to break the contract."

"Mr. Potter, we are not here to cause trouble. We are just doing our job. We are just giving you the information if you want to research it that is your choice," said Simon.

"You have no idea who her father is?" asked James.

"Her birth certificate is from Ireland so we are assuming her father may be somewhere in the United Kingdom or Ireland," said Simon.

"What is her name?" pried Alice. "I might be able to narrow it down."

"Bridget Alana," said Hugo.

Alice's eyes sparked right away at the Irish middle name. It sounded like Jennifer chose the first name, so it was likely the father would have chosen it. If that was the case, she had a good idea who he was. Marcus McKinnon. She remembered having a lot of double dates with them, before the war started. She was happy she had some idea, but at the same point it was depressing. She knew she had to tell them her suspicions.

"One person comes to mind. The only Irish family she would have ever gotten involved with was the McKinnons. I can't say which one of the boys it would have been. But they were all murdered during the war," said Alice uncomfortably, thinking about to the McKinnons. Their clan had been almost completely annihilated.

"What! My sister was dating one of them!"

"I know she was back at Hogwarts, but I don't know if they stayed together," said Alice, raising her hands defensively. "Frank, the last time you spoke the any of the McKinnons, did they ask about Jennifer?" she demanded of her husband.

"That was nine years ago, Alice."

"Just answer the damn question!"

"Calm down sparky. The last time I visited they were all quite anxious. Marcus kept wandering off a lot, come to think of it. They all were quiet, as if they were hiding something. I assumed they were all worried about the activity nearby," said Frank trying to remember.

"Don't call me sparky," growled Alice.

Frank backed away several strides away, withdrawing the arm he had been about to wrap around his wife. He quite liked his arm and knew that she really wasn't in the mood. Not that he could blame her. He was upset too. He and Jennifer were in the same year, and had spent a lot of time working together on classes. He was angry that she was alive all this time. The pain she put James and Alice through was unforgivable. He was angrier with Lily for taking the letters. Knowing his best friend was alive changed so much.

"Would Marlene know?" asked James.

"Maybe, but I'm not sure it's a good idea to bring up her family. Remember what happened when Sirius mentioned them last Christmas," warned Alice.

"But she might do it for possible family," James countered.

"Marlene works down in the Obliviator Headquarters. She should be in the office today," said Alice.

"We will go there next," said Franz.

"She isn't going to like talking about her family. She doesn't react well to talking about them," warned James.

"I'm sure we can handle it," said Hugo.

Simon cleared his throat to silence the cocky Aurors. He knew better then to underestimate the power of grief. He may have not been on the front of the war, but he had to tell plenty of people that had family here they were dead or missing, unlike his younger colleagues, who were still just kids back then. He had more important things to talk about than whether to talk to a grieving witch. They would have to, now, anyway. Hugo and Franz left to be the bearer of good news to the young girl. Simon however had a job to do. He did care about the girl, but he also wanted to take down that family. He refused to give up after his son got into a fight with one of their boys and the next morning his son was found dead. He couldn't prove they killed him, but he had a chance to get them now.

"We have transferred Miss Potter to St. Mungo's. She's awake and stable but very uncooperative. We have Aurors guarding the room in case someone finds out they didn't actual kill her," said Simon passing James a thick file of medical reports and official records.

The foreign Aurors left to go talk to Marlene and for St. Mungo's. Everyone who knew Marlene gave them all the luck they could, knowing how Marlene was when it came to discussing her family. James watched in awe as the files disappeared from his desk. Between Frank, Alice and Amelia the file vanished. All three of the Aurors had extensive piles of their own to go through, but all three felt empathy for James.

Without a word, the rest of the people in the office split up James's work leaving nothing at his desk. James didn't have the words for his co-workers or Bartemius to thank them. He took off and headed to St. Mungo's, hoping not to see Lily. He couldn't deal with her right now.

Instead of waiting in line for ages a German Auror was waiting for him. James had no idea what to say. He was rusty on his French and knew not even a small amount of German. There was an awkward pause until James showed his Ministry of Magic identity card.

"Mr. Potter follow me to Miss Bridget," said the German Auror solemnly.

James felt the air being sucked right out of him as he looked at the young girl, lying in bed, reading a book. The two Aurors that had been in the room quickly dismissed themselves to the hallway. He wasn't sure what was more shocking to him: the fact she existed or how much she looked like Marlene.

"Bridget?" said James his voice cracking a bit as her blue eyes met his, the same eyes his sister had.

Bridget looked up and closed her book, but didn't say a word. She ran her hand up and down the cover and binding of the book. Her eyes would dart from James to the book, never holding his gaze for long.

"Do you know who I am?" asked James.

A firm shake of the head confirmed Bridget had no idea. Not that James had suspected she would have no idea who he was if he didn't even know she existed. It was taking a lot of effort for James to find the words he wanted to say.

"I'm your uncle James. I know we've never met before. I didn't know you existed until today," said James stepping closer.

Bridget started to rub her wrists, looking around more rapidly, as though trying to find a way out. James backed up again seeing that he was not welcomed any closer. She stopped rubbing her wrists and went back to staring at the book.

"You know we aren't a whole lot different. I was in the hospital a lot as a kid and I know how scary it is. I also love your mum and I know you do too. I'm also really confused and scared. It's okay to be scared," said James, using the same tone he'd use with Posey when she was scared of something.

Bridget ignored him, picking up the book again, and seemed to go off into her own world. She would glance up, but that was all she would do. James would have known the book anywhere: Alice in Wonderland. It looked to be Jennifer's copy. It had been her favourite book when they were little. She kept it impeccable shape, refusing to let James touch it on his own even as a teenager. James heard it at least two hundred times from his mother, and another two hundred times from Jennifer reading to him before he could read.

"Your mother loved that book, too," said James.

"She used to read it to me," mumbled Bridget in French.

It became obvious James didn't know French after several long, awkward minutes. Bridget rubbed her temples. No one was saying anything while they tried to figure out how to communicate.

"I'm sorry my French is rusty," James offered.

"I zaid she read it to me," said Bridget in a thick French accent.

"She used to read it to me, too, before I could read. She loved to read," said James.

"She still doez. I know they are trying to protect me, but I do not speak English well. I just want to go home, but I cannot. I have no home," said Bridget.

"You'll learn English. You have cousins, your great-uncle, and myself, not mention all the friends of your mother. You are not alone. I'm going through something scary too. We can get through it together," said James, seating himself at the table. He had no idea what to tell her about Marlene yet.

"You do not understand. Everyone I care about dies or goes away. Je détruis – I destroy all of zeir lives," said Bridget, tears forming in her eyes.

"That's not true. Don't think like that, you're too young for that. Listen to me, live for now and let the adults deal with the grown-up stuff," said James, his blood boiling.

"I do not know 'ow to think different," Bridget sniffled, looking down at the book.

"You'll learn. Here in England you are a kid. A child. You don't have to worry about keeping a pureblood image, or have any responsibility. Your only responsibility is to have fun," said James.

Bridget let James join her eventually, and he read to her from the book. She curled up into his side, falling asleep, and leaving him to think. No one else ever stopped by the entire night.

He wasn't sure if he was angry, sad, or scared. The lines between the emotions were blurred.

He was just so confused.

He was angry at his parents for making him think his sister was dead. He was angry that Jennifer let them, and even more-so that she would do this to an innocent child, who didn't ask for any of this. He was angry about Lily and the letters and… everything. Why did she have to choose today, of all days?

He had missed so much of Bridget's life, not to mention Jennifer's older kids – he didn't even know their names, let alone their ages, and that was killing him. If he could go back in time he would have taken Bridget away a long time ago so she could have just been a normal kid not some pureblood socialite, in danger of being murdered by her own family.

He didn't know how he was going to take care of three kids. He didn't know how he was going to be a single father. It was obvious to him that he had already screwed up in his marriage somewhere. He couldn't stand to screw up being a dad too. He didn't want to screw up any more.

And on top of all that, hardly worth mentioning, he had to be back at work at five in the morning, to help with a case he wanted no part of, and to turn down a promotion that he would likely never be offered again.

James was really growing to hate Mondays. Not like he didn't hate them before today.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.

 **Updated 12/7/15**

 **Beta Reader: LeighaGreene**

Thanks for all the help even when it seemed like I was going to quit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **"Changing Seas"**

 **Chapter 2**

Marlene had never showed up at St. Mungo's to see Bridget. James knew it was unlikely she would warm up to the girl anytime soon. They had no solid proof that Bridget was Marcus's child. Their theory was weak, based only on information nearly a decade old and Bridget's appearance. Even so, James couldn't understand why Marlene wouldn't hang onto even the tiniest hope that she still had family alive.

With his kids still at the Weasleys', Bridget still in the hospital, and Lily off God only knew where, the Potter house was silent. Howell had given James two weeks of personal leave. James didn't get much of a say in the matter. All of his cases had been transferred to other aurors. Now he had nothing to do but sit at home and think, unless he went back to St. Mungo's, and he might run into Lily if he did that.

A knock on the door cut though the still air. James held his wand tightly in hand. The concern of the foreign aurors had James on edge. He had been learning more about the Voclain family. They were ruthless, and undeniably powerful. They had been an influential family since the French Revolution, and were, in a word, untouchable. The last thing James needed was a duel to the death, but he knew that they would be a concern for years to come. From what James's uncle Charlus told him, the Voclains would not give up until they were sure Bridget would not – or could not – attempt to go back to France and challenge the 'true' heirs to the family wealth.

"Who is it?" asked James, his hand on the handle.

"Open up, jackass," said a bitter, female voice.

James opened the door to find a familiar, blonde-haired witch on his doorstep. She helped herself into the house. He closed the door behind her. His grip on his wand didn't loosen. No one should know about the possible relationship, but he knew better than to just let his guard down.

"I guess you're welcomed in, Marlene," said James unperturbed by Marlene's behaviour which would seem ill-mannered to people who didn't know her.

"Put that wand away before you poke someone's eye out. Honestly, James you think I'm an imposter? Who spent a month being tortured for information on Lily and you after Voldemort fell?" Marlene grumbled.

"Nothing personal," said James, finally lowering his wand.

"Who told those aurors where to find me?" Marlene asked.

James would never give Marlene a name. He didn't want her going after Alice because a duel between those two wouldn't end well for either party. "It doesn't matter who told them. The fact is that Bridget exists and is here."

"Leave it to you to assume she belongs to Marcus. We weren't the only damn Irish wizarding family!" snapped Marlene.

"You haven't seen her Marlene. She's a mirror image of you when you were her age," James said softly.

Marlene ignored him, continuing her tirade. "Isn't it bad enough my family was murdered because of that stupid group we were in. We were kids being forced to fight a war that we didn't start. Worst of all no one won! Even now you can't just leave me alone to live my life!"

"Get your head out of your arse!" James snapped, hitting his breaking point. "Look,

Bridget didn't ask to be born. She was brought into a world at war. She was raised by people who faked her death to save her from a completely mental pureblood family. Just try to see if she is a relation to you!"

"How do you suppose I find out? I can't exactly ask Marcus," growled Marlene, getting right in James's face.

"You're a bright witch, figure it out. Check any letters Marcus was getting from France. He may even have a birth certificate. Maybe he had something in his vault. I don't know. He was your brother," said James, taking a deep breath.

"I'll look, but I guarantee I won't find anything," Marlene relented.

James hesitated before he responded, but he decided he had to try – this was the closest Marlene had come in years to talking about her family's deaths. All of her friends were worried about her, but there never seemed to be a chance to try to get her to open up. He wanted to see Marlene be able to live a normal life like he had seen several others do. He braced himself for an explosion and said, "Marlene, you don't have to live your life like this. Stop pretending like you're fine. Blaming yourself or what happened is making it worse. They are dead because of Voldemort. Deal with it. Hate him if you have to hate someone. Too many of us were lost to the war. Don't be another."

Somewhat to James' surprise, Marlene turned away instead of hexing him in the buttocks like she had to Sirius, whom could sit properly for two months even with sucking up his pride and going to St. Mungo's.

She found herself staring into the picture on the wall of herself, Alice and Lily in their fifth year. Everything went to hell so quickly. She could barely remember what it was like be a carefree teenager. She remembered how much she took her family for granted. It was her fault they were dead. It was her fault for being so reckless. She could never forgive the girl in the picture. She had ruined everything she had going for her. Her family paid for her naivety with their lives.

"Everyone in the Order lost people or their own lives," James continued, hoping she was listening. "They only found a finger of Benjy. Fabian lost everything after the war ended because he didn't know how to live a normal life. Every time I look at the boys, I see my parents. Edgar lost his wife and brother, and is left to raise his boys and his niece. Dorcas and Remus lost their second baby. We all have to live with what we did, and the price we paid for fighting for the right side."

Tears rolled down Marlene's cheeks. Liam was only fifteen, he hadn't even taken his OWL's yet. He would never graduate from Hogwarts, or get married and have kids. Eric was finally sober and getting his life together. He never got to see the reward for giving up drinking. Marcus had everything going for him and didn't get to enjoy it. Her kids didn't have grandparents, cousins or uncles that Marlene knew of. Marlene hadn't seen her sister ever since she married that Lovegood lunatic, she had no idea if they had a child or not. It wasn't fair she lost everyone she loved. It wasn't fair her kids only had her and their father.

"It isn't fair. Sometimes I wish I could believe they are still alive, like Pandora does, but I can't. I know we didn't find Marcus's body, but the house was barely standing. Liam was-was literally butchered and he couldn't even properly defend himself, but he still managed to knock out Travers so we were able to catch him. They never did find Eric's head. My parents were killed while they were asleep," said Marlene, breaking down into sobs. The voice in her head screaming at her it was her fault echoed over and over.

James flinched at the details that haunted Marlene every day. The Death Eaters were brutal towards the end. He could never get the image of what they did to Sally Bones out of his head. He had been the first auror at scene. It was a miracle that all of her boys survived that night. He couldn't imagine what Marlene and Edgar were still going through every day, and he knew that.

"They died so we could have a future. I know what's what my father would say.

We have to hold onto that," he said gently.

"We were the ones fighting, why wasn't it us that died, not them?"

"I don't know. We must not be done with this life yet. Maybe Bridget is being brought to us to heal these wounds," said James, remembering his mother's wisdom, as if she was speaking the words into his ear.

"Or she was brought to us to remind us what we fought for," said Marlene, smiling softly and wiping her face.

"Is that you agreeing to meet her?" asked James.

"As close as you're going to get," Marlene said.

POP! POP!

A slight breeze blew through the empty Potter house. A book was launched from the bookshelf in the living room. It landed in the middle of the room, open to a page on seers.

* * *

St. Mungo's was bustling, as usual. The Witch Greeter just waved at James as he passed. He was here so often that they didn't ask for identification anymore, which actually concerned James, but the aurors would always stop him before going in so he didn't feel too worried.

"When can I leave thiz l'enfer stérile," complained Bridget.

"You don't know French, do you James?" asked Marlene.

"I do but I haven't spoken in years," replied James "Why?"

"Oh nothing," said Marlene looking at her nails.

"Merlin's sake," said Bridget rolling her eyes.

"Don't the French say something else?" asked Marlene.

"Too paresseux to say the saying. Mama says it," said Bridget.

"It is strange James I'll give you that. But Marcus wouldn't kept that from me, would he?" said Marlene, unable to take her eyes off Bridget.

"Don't ask me, I thought my sister was dead since I was fifteen," James said.

"Why you regardes me?" asked Bridget glaring at Marlene.

"I'm just confused. You really need to work on her bluntness," said Marlene.

James rolled his eyes at Marlene. "And that's coming from the Queen of Bluntness," he laughed.

"Oh shut up," said Marlene rolling her eyes in return.

"Will someone explain?" interrupted Bridget crossing her arms.

"It's a long story," said James.

Marlene looked down at her hands, hoping James would explain, focusing on her silver ring and its dark red stone, rather than the girl who looked like her brother's daughter. Her blue eyes gleamed suddenly as she was graced with a brilliant idea. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of this before. It was a perfect way to know for sure. "James there is an easier way to find out. It was literally right in front of me," said Marlene wiggling the ring off her finger.

"Huh?"

"My ring. It is an old family heirloom passed down to the next heir. It will only fit someone with a McKinnon father, you know, to keep the family heritage within the family," said Marlene.

"Why did they care so much to make a ring for it?" asked James shaking his head.

"It traces back to when Vikings arrived in Ireland. It was a way to be certain heirs in magical families were truly heirs. No one really cares about that anymore it's just tradition now," said Marlene holding out the ring to Bridget.

"What do you wantz me to do with it?" asked Bridget.

"Put it on your right ring finger," said Marlene.

Bridget took the ring, raising an uncomprehending eyebrow at Marlene. It glided right onto the finger. The gemstone went from dark red to a golden yellow then glowed before going back to its natural dark red.

"What waz zat?" asked Bridget.

"It was a ring that just told us who your father is," said Marlene taking the ring back as Bridget held it out to her.

"Que'st il?" the girl asked. "'Who is 'e?"

"My brother," said Marlene.

"Then where is 'e?" asked Bridget.

"Erm-James, want to take that one?" said Marlene looking down at her shoes.

James took a deep breath before muttering the simple sentence. "He is dead."

Bridget didn't respond in shock or grief. She just let it go. James didn't quite know what to make of the lack of reaction. He knew his girls were emotional just at the mention of something dying. But then he had to remind himself Bridget wasn't like his girls.

"Do not stand at my grave and weep," she recited quietly,  
"I am not there. I do not sleep.  
I am a thousand winds that blow.  
I am the diamond glints on snow.  
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.  
I am the gentle autumn rain.  
When you awaken in the morning's hush  
I am the swift uplifting rush  
Of quiet birds in circled flight.  
I am the soft stars that shine at night.  
Do not stand at my grave and cry;  
I am not there. I did not die."

There was a moment of silence when Bridget finished her recitation, just like in France, when she had recited it at funerals.

"I've never heard that poem before. Who wrote it?" asked Marlene.

"I don't know. My mémé said when she was dying," shrugged Bridget.

Marlene had nothing to say. No child this young should have to carry the burden of the death of a loved one, yet so many children did after the war. If given a chance, she would have died so her family could have lived.

James and Marlene stayed the entire day. Bridget felt as if her English begin to improve as she listened and tried to communicate. It was frustrating that she couldn't speak English well. Reciting poetry or songs was easy, but in conversation she worried about saying the wrong thing, and became so flustered that she made silly mistakes. She really wanted to be able to talk to people here like she could in France. But as much as she wanted to speak English, she wanted to leave the hospital more. She felt perfectly fine, but no one was letting her leave. People were talking to her as if she was a fragile doll that could be broken, and it was driving her nutty.

"When can I leave?" she yawned.

"Soon," said James.

"Je déteste zis place," whined Bridget.

"Why are they keeping her here?" asked Marlene several minutes later, after Bridget had fallen asleep.

"I think they are concerned about safety. They seem to think I can't protect her well enough from the mental family my sister married into," said James.

"She's obviously illegitimate. They were trying to purge the family line of her?" assumed Marlene.

"Appears so. They issue is they are force to be reckoned with and they are concerned they'll find out and come after her. My sister and husband may have thrown them off for now, but they'll be suspicious when there is no body," said James.

"Codswallop!"

"Shhh" James hushed.

"Like bloody hell you can't protect her. She's going to be surrounded by gifted witches and wizards," said Marlene, fuming with anger.

"You know you sound like your mother," chuckled James, remembering the feisty Irish woman who used to come over for tea with his mother.

"I know I do. I'm yelling at Kara thinking we sound like my mam and I did," Marlene groaned, rubbing her temples.

"I'm just worried about the Posey's reaction to her" sighed James "Harry likely wouldn't care."

"I think you should be more worried about how she will react to Posey. If she's like Marcus, she'll be very competitive," said Marlene.

"That's if she is able to be in the house before the kids return. I'm slightly tempted to dump my kids on Sirius and Emmeline in the woods," said James.

"James! Emmeline already has seven kids there with her," gasped Marlene rolling her eyes.

"I'm pretty sure they only have six kids," said James. "Oh I get it, you're counting Sirius, too."

"James, he is worse than any of the children. I should know. You know I'm glad Emmeline got stuck marrying him, but damn, I wish he hadn't been cheating," said Marlene "even though I was 'supposed' to be dead at the time."

"That makes two of us," mumbled James.

"I'm sorry," said Marlene.

"What are you sorry for?" asked James.

Guilt and shock grew over Marlene's playful expression. She couldn't believe Lily didn't tell him. Actually, no she could believe that Lily would leave that part out. She didn't want to be the one to tell James, but someone had to. It wasn't right for him to think it was his fault, when this was all on Lily. Marlene cared a lot about Lily, but she screwed up an amazing marriage.

"You don't know. She said she talked to you, guess she left out that part," muttered Marlene under her breath.

"What in bloody hell are you talking about?!"

"Shhh," hushed Marlene, looking at Bridget who rolled over.

"Lily's been having an affair with Snape," spat Marlene with a scowl.

"What? How long?" James only just managed to keep his voice down.

"James, I'm not sure I'm the person who should be talking about that with you," sighed Marlene trying not to look into James's eyes. She couldn't bear to see the pain she knew all too well.

"Damnit Marlene, just tell me," snapped James.

"At least three months since I found out. I told her she was idiot, but she told me to sod off, so it could have been longer," Marlene said, as calmly as she could. She felt bad for breaking her promise not to tell James, but at this point breaking that promise was the lesser evil.

One of the living chairs exploded with a loud pop, sending stuffing flying everything. James instantly went from explosive rage to laughing at Marlene, who had stuffing all over her hair. The witch was not amused at all, given that she was going to spend hours trying to get the stuffing out her hair.

"We heard an explosion, is everything okay?" asked Hugo as he rushed in with Franz.

"Just him exploding a chair," grumbled Marlene.

"You are?" asked Franz drawing a wand out on Marlene.

"I would strongly recommend you get that wand out my face. I'm her aunt! And we met the other day," said Marlene.

As Franz lowered his wand James raised his. Unlike Marlene, James knew that Franz and Hugo had gone back to their respective countries earlier that day. Marlene looked at James in complete and utter confusion.

"Who are you?" snarled James.

"Mr. Potter, are you sure you are well?" said Hugo "We talked this morning."

"You said that you were leaving for Pairs at noon and Franz left last night for Frankfurt," James addressed to both Hugo and Franz.

"You are just figuring this out? I thought they said you were bright. There is no Franz or Hugo," laughed Franz as his German accent turned into a French one, and his hair became dark brown and his eyes icy blue.

"A few memory charms on Simon and he didn't question a thing," laughed Hugo as his appearance mirrored 'Franz'.

Marlene backed up slowly, desperately wanting to get Bridget out of here. She refused to lose the niece she just found out she had. She'd die before she'd let them hurt her.

"Don't even think about it," warned 'Hugo'.

Marlene and James both jumped as a ball of fire shot pass them, landing directly on 'Franz'. Bridget was standing up with a ball of fire spiralling in her hand.

"I am not afraid of you. You will never win. If anyone should be afraid it's you," warned Bridget in French.

"I told you she could use the fire element on command," groaned 'Franz'.

"Shame for such power to go to waste," said 'Hugo', aiming towards Bridget. Bridget stared him down and didn't budge an inch.

"How dare you aim at my niece!" shouted Marlene. She waved her hand, sending both of the imposters flying.

James grabbed Bridget despite her resistance and apparated her to the waiting room before returning to the fight. Bridget was furious that James had pulled her way. She wanted to fight them as much as much as they wanted her dead. She hated them all for taking away everything she knew. She wanted them to pay.

By the time Simon arrived, Marlene and James had the imposters well under control. Frank and Alice were the first British aurors to arrive. Alice threatened to hex them a few times for good measure before Amelia and Kingsley arrived to formally arrest them. Kingsley took the initiative to take imposters to lockup so Amelia would get more information to help them then he could.

"Will someone please explain to me what just happened up there?" asked James.

The entire group – James, Marlene, and Bridget, plus Amelia, Alice, and Frank, who had stayed behind just in case there were any more imposters around – had moved to the waiting room. Alice and Frank were shocked at the resemblance between the young girl and Marlene. The young girl looked more like Marlene's daughter than Kara did.

"All kids under the age of eleven are capable of using elemental magic," Marlene explained. "Lily was good with Earth magic, making flowers and such, but she lost it once she turned eleven like most kids do. But in rare cases it doesn't go away. You find wizards like Professor Dumbledore can still use elemental magic. It's a secret that is well kept in the Department of Ministry. It hasn't been taught at Hogwarts since the Great London Fire in 1666."

"Yes," Amelia confirmed, "it's very rare for a child to keep using elemental magic. Most people will lose it by thirteen if not before. But when it remains it has been shown to run in families. Where do you think the names Bones came from? Our talent with death magic is also a curse, so many of us die because of what we can do. The McKinnons are another family it runs in. It used to run in most pureblood lines actually, but it has been lost over the years. Very few people in the world, who aren't users know about it. And you cannot tell anyone. People used to hunt down kids who could use the elements and forced them to overuse their power. Using it too much causes them to lose their power from overuse or die, which is part of the reason it's so rare now."

"Is it possible it will go away once she turns eleven?" asked James uneasy about the idea of having a future teenager who could start fires.

"Maybe, but unlikely," said Marlene "Marcus and I continued to be able to use it. Eric and Liam didn't."

"So luck of the draw?" said James.

"No, more like Eric lost it at twelve and Liam's nearly killed him. He lost control of it and nearly drowned himself. He never used his powers again after that," shrugged Marlene. "Both of my parents could use it until their death."

"That explains a lot actually. I remember Marcus causing a few fires in the boys' dormitories in our first few years, it always stumped the prefects on how he did it," said Amelia casually. No one was sure if she was serious or not.

"You are telling me there is a whole different type of magic," said James. He felt like his head was going to explode.

"James, there are thousands of types of magic," said Frank.

"Franky, I think James is having a headache as it is," said Alice grabbing Frank's forearm.

"Why am I the only one here that doesn't know?" James asked, feeling very left out.

"Well I doesn't run in your family anymore, and you were always sleeping in classes that discussed the former use of elemental magic," offered Marlene.

James glowered at Marlene. She just rolled her eyes. Like glaring bothered her. She grew up with two older brothers she enjoyed annoying even to their graves. She remembered Eric showing up at flat threatening to curse a certain body part off Sirius in a drunken rage after she told her family she was pregnant shortly after graduation. He hated Sirius and would tell Marlene all the time how she deserved better. She knew now that he was right, and she was blindly in love.

"Can I leave 'ere now?" asked Bridget, feeling abnormally tired for the early evening.

Simon walked up to the group sluggishly. He felt like an incompetent rookie. He couldn't believe he fell for this. He was just lucky that someone had been there to stop them. Even with an element power, Bridget would have never stood a chance.

"That would be wise. If they knew she was here this also means they know she's alive," said Simon "I'm so sorry about this. I never realized… I'm hoping this was just two random family members, who hadn't told the rest of the family yet."

"Why does that matter?" asked Amelia.

"Let's just say they don't take kindly to being betrayed," said Simon looking at Bridget, unwilling to say if the whole family knew, it was likely that the rest of the family wiped out Jennifer, her husband, and the two older children by now.

"Ooooh, I see," said Amelia catching the hint.

"I'm taking her to my Uncle Charlus," James decided. "If they talked to the rest of the family, they'll expect she's with me. They will never expect my uncle."

"Sounds brilliant. I'll have the Potter manor heavily guarded. I have enough to get them on impersonating an auror, attempted murder, assault of an auror, international fraud, and child endangerment. I have enough influence in the Ministry to make it happen," said Amelia "I know this family well, this isn't the first time they've caused trouble here. They aren't getting away this time."

"We've been trying for years to get them on something. Be my guest and try," sighed Simon.

"There is a lot you don't know about me," said Amelia, apparating away.

"Should we be concerned?" asked Marlene knowing how Edgar was when he had his mind set to something. It was safe to assume that Amelia was the same way or worse. Marlene just didn't honestly know Amelia as well as Edgar.

"Nah, she'll be fine. She knows what she is doing," said James.

"I must get to France to do some digging. Get her out of here. Do whatever it takes to keep her hidden," said Simon. "She's our only hope on finally taking down the heads of the Voclain family."

James didn't waste any time. He couldn't protect his sister now, but he could protect Bridget. He wished to be able to hug his sister again, but he was able to hug Bridget right in this moment. He would do whatever he could so he could have his sister back. He trusted Amelia to make it happen. He would put his life in her hands. She was the best auror he knew. If anyone could do it, she could.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Thank you all for sticking around the second chapter. I really hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. Anyways you can't expect chapter three next week or so. And bg thanks to my amazing beta

 **Updated 12/7/15**

 **Beta: LeighaGreene**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **"Changing Seas"**

 **Chapter 3**

A month and half had passed since the worst Monday of James' life. While James had finally started to regain his footing, the Potter children were only becoming more lost as time went on and no one explained anything. They just couldn't understand why their mum wasn't staying with them and only came over a few days of the week, or why their dad seemed to be avoiding her. At least the kids still had the stability of Remus being around. Dorcas and Remus had lost a newborn son in a Death Eater attack right after the fall of Voldemort, and been helping out with the Potter kids ever since. Lily decided to go straight back to work after the war, and being around children really seemed to help Dorcas with the loss of her own baby.

Both Harry and Posey loved when Remus came to babysit, but it wasn't the same as having their mum around, and they missed Dorcas, whom they hadn't seen in several weeks, too. James didn't know how to talk about the separation or about why Dorcas wasn't around. He didn't want his children to know about the terrible attack Dorcas had faced. They were too young in his eyes to know about the evils in the world. Going back to work had been a blessing for James: It got his mind off Lily, his sister, the Voclains, and Bridget. He was just struggling with the kids and Lily. He had no idea how he was going to introduce the kids to Bridget. Harry wouldn't be an issue, but he never knew what side of Posey he would wake up to one day to the next. The idea of them with another girl in the family was something James wasn't too keen to experience.

James sat at his desk writing up a report on Fabian Prewett in another assault case. Molly had owled him after Fabian blew up at the house, scaring her two youngest kids nearly to death. They kids were protected between Arthur, Molly and Gideon, but Fabian was getting more aggressive. Molly wanted her brother to get help at St. Mungo's so he could have a life again. James stared at the paper in front of him. He had two choices: report the case to Howell or handle it himself. Howell would order another arrest for Fabian, and the cycle of increasing violence would start all over again when he was released. James respected the Head auror, but also disagreed with him sometimes. James slipped the report inside his cloak and looked for his next task. He wouldn't ruin Fabian's life over something he had no control over. If James had reported all the times Marlene and Sirius had gone off on people, the Ministry surely would have taken the kids from away both Marlene and Sirius, the way they behaved after the war.

His paperwork was done for the moment, but everyone else was busy. Knowledge of Bridget's existence had been leaked to the Daily Prophet, and the McKinnon case had been re-opened. He had threatened to storm into the Daily Prophet and arrest Rita Skeeter himself. They had even put her name in the article. They could end up being the reason she would be attacked and killed over a stupid article. Amelia got there before him and stopped him before he got himself into trouble. He was still livid about it, but at least Amelia was pressing charges. He could have helped half of the auror office with that case, but instead he chose to discuss the Lupin case with Amelia.

"Potter, nothing has changed from an hour ago. We don't have a suspect in custody, our leads are dead, and I have no new information," sighed Amelia, not even looking up at the younger auror.

"The line-up didn't work out then," assumed James.

"No, she didn't recognize any of the suspects. We have followed up with anyone they gave to us as a list of possible enemies. It wasn't any of them either. I only have another week before it becomes a cold case," said Amelia slamming another dead end suspect file into her file cabinet, which had two drawers filled with the Lupin case and the other two filled with anything on the Voclain family.

"Maybe it wasn't a person?" offered James, getting a crazy idea in his head.

"Potter, I don't have time for riddles," Amelia griped.

"It's possible the suspect was a vampire or someone similar, like a half-vampire or other creature. After all Lyall is very unpopular with the creatures and beings," said James, naming Remus's father after realizing he nearly gave away Remus. After all the entire wizarding world was aware of the vampire and werewolf conflict right now, and Amelia was a bright witch. She'd figure out very quickly.

Vampires and werewolves have had feud between them for many centuries. Britain was the current battle ground for this feud. It has brought a lot of attention to both groups. James had heard of several failed attempts to end it recently that lead to the death of several Being and Beast specialists. There was even word of laws against Vampires in general were being made and even to the extreme of exile of vampire or werewolf caught during a fight. It was getting to the point that James was worried about Remus and his kids, and he felt nervous letting his own kids outside. He hadn't let them out any later than five in the afternoon since the attack happened on Dorcas.

"Erm, yes. Brilliant idea! Why didn't I think of that?" said Amelia quickly writing a letter to the Being Department and Beast Department for a request for information. James watched her carefully, unsure of how much she knew.

"I know your mother taught you better then to stare at a women, Potter, so stop staring at me. If you must know yes I do know about Remus, and no I didn't pressure him or look it up. He told me of his own according hoping it would help get the suspect caught so his family could have a normal life again," Amelia said quietly, rolling her eyes at James.

"How are you going to report that?" asked James.

"As part of the feud, if that is what happened. I'll leave out Remus's, condition and do my best to protect his and his family's rights," countered Amelia, tapping her fingers on her desk.

"Right. Anything from Simon?" asked James "I haven't heard anything since he left for France."

"Well, I know the two men we arrested are second cousins to your brother-in-law, and the German Auror Department seems to believe the family still believes that Bridget is deceased, since the family made a big formal announcement about her dying in a freak accident in the river behind the house," said Amelia.

"Hopefully that means my sister is still okay," mumbled James.

"They have no reason to hurt your sister or her immediate family for now. I know Simon is sending Bridget's stuff here. He was able to have it removed as part of the fake investigation the French aurors did. The French Department of International Cooperation cut some sort of deal with, Crouch as head of DMLE, at least for a few more weeks, and got our imposters returned to France, so there is nothing we can do now. In France it's impossible to get that family for anything. If they are stupid enough to return here at any point they will be arrested and charged," spat Amelia, disgusted with the French aurors, "and thanks to the Daily Prophet they surely know she's alive now."

"They are quite different over there," James said shaking his head.

"That is one way to put it," said Amelia mutter a few swear words under her breath.

"Please keep me updated. And where are they sending her stuff?" questioned James.

"To your uncle as a package from France. Its highly secure and no one will be able to trace it," said Amelia. "It should bring up Bridget's spirits. Charlus brought her over to Edgar's the other night. She seems to get along quite well with all of the boys and Susan. He seems to be trying to get to be comfortable with social life here."

"That's good, since eventually she'll have to go to Hogwarts," nodded James.

Amelia looked at James with surprise at his total ignorance of other education methods. "Actually she doesn't have to go to Hogwarts. There are other choices," she said.

James rubbed his neck, feeling like he was under a microscope. Amelia was a brilliant auror, but also very intimidating. She and Alice were the only witches in the office and had made themselves well-known. Even before becoming an auror, Amelia was a distinguished student, top in her year. She had been in Jennifer's year along with Frank, and had been a frequent visitor to the Potter manor back in James's childhood. She still had a knack for making James feel like a little kid even when she wasn't even here.

"Hey, Potter! I need to borrow you!" bellowed Howell.

August Howell was a tall, thin man with grey streaks in his dark golden blonde hair. He had been Head Auror since James was in training. He wasn't as keen as he used to be, but still one of the best. He, like Crouch, was nearing retirement. James hoped not to be offered the job a second time.

"I'm sure you are aware I will be retiring very soon," the Head Auror said, "but you made yourself clear you don't want the job, which back when I was your age I wished I had made that choice." James nearly sighed in relief. "Time goes by so fast when your kids are so close to Hogwarts age. Anyways, I have one final assignment for you. It's a long-term one so you will have to deal with the new Head when they are chosen."

"What type of long-term assignment?" asked James, hoping it wasn't one that required him to be gone for long periods of time.

"Well, we are looking for some Death Eaters in a certain department. Crouch is starting another Ministry inquisition of the loyalties of Ministry workers. We are hoping we are going to get the people we believe to be Death Eater sympathizers, but haven't had the means to prove," said August "Crouch, himself, is considering retiring too. Wants to go out on a high note. He wants this done before the New Year, and that is going to be a hard task."

"So you want me to go undercover in another department and try to find Death Eaters," said James rubbing his neck.

"At this point I must ask if you want to take this or not. I cannot it discuss any more if you're not committed," said August.

It didn't take James long to think about. He would be away from the Lupin case and everything going on with his sister's family. He knew part of the income he lost by turning down the promotion would be gained back. It wasn't like he needed it, but he was building up a vault for Bridget. He didn't know what she had or would inherit from the McKinnons, but he was sure she would never get anything from the Potter and Voclain accounts. "As long as I'm home in time to take care of the kids at four, and I'm not in any more risk than usual to be killed, I'm in," he said.

"Good, good. You have two options now: take the Unbreakable Vow or have your memory erased after the inquisition is finished. The Unbreakable Vow doesn't apply to future laws or in the court of law," said August.

"I rather do an Unbreakable Vow," said James, a bit taken aback. He knew memory spells were dangerous, and Merlin he didn't need to deal with a failed memory charm at the moment. If he was being forced to choose between those two options, he would rather be able to remember anyone who might be dangerous to his family in the future.

"Please stay a bit after your shift today and we'll get this done. Here is the paperwork, and you'll have to go to St. Mungo's to make sure you're cleared to do this. I'd like this all done before the end of the day. Don't worry about helping out with the ongoing cases, they'll get along just fine without ya," said August.

James nodded taking the large pile of files to his desk. August went over to Amelia's desk, James couldn't see what they were talking about, but saw Amelia nodding her head to something. Suddenly a light switch went off in James's head as he realized that after he rejected the promotion, it went to Amelia. James had no problem with that. He would rather be under Amelia's command than anyone else in the office. The others were either too young to understand the older aurors, didn't have enough field experience, were too deeply affected by the war to be good leaders, couldn't be trusted in power, wouldn't take the offer, or some combination of the above.

"They are really slamming you with work, aren't they?" Alice observed, clearly keen to distract James while she was on her tea-break.

"Just paperwork, nothing big," shrugged James.

"I see. Anything from Simon?" asked Alice. "Sorry that's none of my business. If I needed know I would."

"I haven't heard anything personally, but Amelia has. I don't want to say much because I don't know what is sensitive information," said James.

"As I said, I shouldn't have asked. I just feel bad for Bridget. She's been taken from one wizarding world to another. Even though purebloods have similar views it's a lot different here. I can imagine Jennifer went through the same thing, but at least she was an adult," said Alice.

"My uncle says she's doing fairly well. She's befriended kids from several of the magical families around. She's doing a lot better with her English," said James.

"That's good. I know she was over at the Bones' a few night ago. Marlene doesn't live far from there. In her words you can't miss a McKinnon for a mile," grinned Alice.

"Did she figure out you told the 'aurors' where to find her?" asked James.

"No," said Alice raising an eyebrow. "Should I be concerned?"

"No, she was just pressing me for information a few weeks ago. Marlene is refusing to let it go, too. You know how she gets when you bring her family up. She really didn't appreciate a bunch of foreigners coming around asking about them," replied James.

"No kidding, but sometimes you have to do the right thing, even when it may hurt someone else. Marlene will forget about it anyways, she never could hold a grudge for very long," said Alice, completely unconcerned. Most aurors would have been, given that Marlene had a history of hexing and jinxing aurors who started questioning her about her family, but Alice knew she could take Marlene in a duel if she had to. It wouldn't be the first time they'd fought.

"Alice, I need to do this paperwork and take a little trip to finish it afterwards. I really don't have time to talk," said James.

Alice stalked off without another word, going over to Frank's desk instead. She glowered at James from there. She had been very hurt by the tone of his words. She hated people making her feel like she was smaller than them. She knew she had more value than James had just given her. Frank didn't ask. He didn't have to.

Finishing the paperwork was easy enough, but now neither Alice nor Frank was speaking to James, and he didn't understand why. He had no idea what he could have done. Alice didn't come near him the rest of the day – she hardly left her desk at all. Frank refused to give James any new information and acted hostile towards James whenever they crossed paths. James avoided Frank, hoping to avoid a blow up. Frank was a great friend and a loyal one, but once he was ticked off his true strength and power came out. He was extremely intimidating when he was angry at someone, even more so then Amelia, and anyone who had crossed a Bones knew that title should be respected.

James left his things in the office as he took the Floo to St. Mungo's with the request form. He wasn't looking forward to this. He had done the Abnormal Mind Evaluation, a strange concept that muggleborns had introduced to mind healing, several times since the end of the war. It was required after a few Ministry workers lost it while on the clock or out on assignment. It annoyed everyone. No one liked coming here to answer intrusive, personal questions, and even worse, they were sometimes told they weren't fit to work. Aside from the heavy blow to a wizard's pride, some families couldn't take the hit to their income that came with forced medical leave, so the Ministry had to come up with a new vacation pay system to go along with it. It was just an enormous hassle all around.

"Okay, Mr. Potter, a healer will be with you shortly," said the welcome witch, taking he request form and tapping it with her wand. The request form disappeared and James sat down in the waiting area, a few chairs down from a young boy who had grown horns and his frazzled-looking mother. He watched as new patients approached the desk. A few people were taken in almost immediately, which made James very anxious. He had heard of rumours of several contagious wizarding diseases that hadn't been seen in hundreds of years, returning in very large numbers. Quite a few people were dying from them.

James groaned inwardly when he saw Lily walking by in her Potioneer's uniform. She had been working as a potioneer at St. Mungo's since the end of the war. She had taken leave while they were in hiding and returned back as soon as possible. For a while she had even been working more than James had been, and he was off chasing Death Eaters all over the country. Unfortunately, she saw him, too.

"James? Please tell it's not one of the kids again?" sighed Lily.

"It isn't," retorted James. He had no desire to speak to his soon-to-be ex-wife.

"Did you have another incident at work?" questioned Lily.

"No," James responded, wanting to roll his eyes.

"Is it for work?" Lily pried.

"Yes," clarified James.

"You're not going to tell me are you?" said Lily.

"Nope," said James.

"Can I ask something else?" asked Lily.

"Aren't you already asking me questions," James said as a matter of fact.

Lily glowered at James. It was one thing to have one to two word responses, but having such indifferent responses to each other just didn't feel right. It's not like she was taking the kids from him or making a big deal out of the separation.

"Is what Rita Skeeter put in the paper true?" asked Lily careful not to say what with others around.

"Some of it. The girl does exist, but Rita isn't right about why she is here. Unfortunately I can't tell you anymore. All I know is that Rita is facing some heavy fines for risking the safety of the girl," said James.

"She can't be staying with you if I haven't seen her yet. Surely the kids would be talking about it," said Lily.

"She is somewhere safe until we can contain the threat against her," said James. And until I figure out how to introduce her to the kids, he added silently.

"Mr. Potter, we are ready for you," said a healer, walking up with a piece of parchment in hand and a quill floating next to her.

The room the healer took him to was sea blue colour, and only big enough to fit two to four people. It had two white armchairs and a two person sofa. The healer took a seat in one chair and James in the other.

"I'm sure you are familiar with all the confidentiality and other laws we follow here," said the healer.

"I am," agreed James.

"Let's get into the questions, then. I have a lot of people to see today," said the healer letting go of the paper. It levitated towards the quill. James realized it was a self-writing quill. It made sense given how busy this place was.

"Have you been drinking alcohol in the past three months?" asked the healer.

"Just my usually Friday evening drinks," said James. The healer had no reason to ask how many, since it was already in his file.

"Have you considered suicide in the past three months?" asked the healer.

"No," said James flatly. He no longer got upset personally with the questions, like he used to when they first started this. He had heard that Edgar Bones threatened to quit his job after the first time they questioned him, despite being cleared for work.

"Have you used any muggle or wizarding drugs in the past three months?" the healer asked.

"No," said James, looking around the room.

"What is your current stress level?" asked the healer.

"High," replied James.

"Have you been have relationship troubles?" questioned the healer.

"Yes," sighed James.

"Has this included any domestic violence?" asked the healer.

"No, and you need a better way to ask that. No wonder people get pissed coming here," said James, glaring at the healer.

"I just ask the questions given to me," said the healer.

"And Death Eaters only acted because their superiors told them to," stated James. He could feel the heat of the healer's glare on him, which was his goal of the statement.

"Have you been hearing voices?" asked the healer, skipping the rest of the family questions.

"No," said James.

"Any recent injuries?" asked the healer.

"No," James replied.

"Okay, that's all. We'll have the clearance notice owled to Mr. Howell immediately," said the healer.

James was more than happy to be done with that. He knew that the healer had skipped large portions of the evaluation, but they had to have at least a dozen of the damn things on file already. It was just a formality. He stopped at the front desk to make appointments for all four kids' check-ups, as it was that time of year. Just as he was getting ready to leave, he saw Gideon walking in, trying to contain Fabian.

"Damnit Gideon! You lied to me!" bellowed Fabian.

People turned their heads to the two red-haired brothers struggling with each other in the doorway. A few parents cover their children's ears, glaring at the duo. James only had his badge and wand, but that was enough for this. He had told Molly he would help.

"What's the matter?" asked James moving himself between Fabian and the doors.

"He's trying to force me to go here," accused Fabian.

"If you won't do it yourself, someone has to," said Gideon.

Fabian lunged at Gideon. James raised his wand to get Fabian to back off. This was not the place for Fabian to have an episode, and James couldn't let him assault anyone with so many prying eyes.

A few lime-clad healers cautiously entered the lobby, careful not to startle the agitated wizard. They had to be from War Recovery, the new, sixth-floor department which did just as it said, helping everyone who was affected by the war. Marlene had chosen to admit herself there shortly after the war ended, leaving her kids with Sirius for four months. But most didn't go there willingly and required healers to take them by force, if they were a danger to themselves or others.

"Fabian, they are all worried about you. They don't want to see anything bad happen to you," said James calmly.

Fabian turned his attention towards James, but before he could do anything the healers had stunned him nonverbally. Gideon pressed his hands in his jacket. He felt terrible for doing this, but he was only one who could legally and, to a degree, safely get Fabian here. It was killing him to see his brother like this.

"Gideon, you've got to trust the healers," said James, seeing the guilt on the other man's face. "It worked for Marlene, Dorcas and even Sirius a bit."

"I know it's helped. Almost everyone in the you-know-what has been here. Edgar has been coming since the end of the war. Due to his situation and the fact he wasn't violent, they let him go home for the kids and such. I believe they did the same for Sirius, if Molly told me right," said Gideon.

"They did," James confirmed.

"I just want to see him get better so he can live his life. I may be working for a different department now, but at least I have a job. Fabian hasn't had a job longer than a month in I don't even know how long, and he's to the point people don't want to hire him. I-I just don't get how I can be okay and he isn't," said Gideon staring at the hallway they had taken his brother away into.

"Sirius was out of the field and only doing office work for year. Dorcas works as a muggle primary teacher working with the Magical Law Enforcement to keep an eye on muggleborns. Marlene is working in the magical orphanage they opened in April. If Marlene can do it, Fabian can," said James.

Gideon sighed and changed the subject. "It was a nice chat James, but I should give them Fabian's information and mine. Molly wanted me to ask you if you wanted to bring the kids over for dinner Thursday."

"That sounds fine. It has to be after four," said James.

"Arthur isn't home until after that anyway," said Gideon "I'll be there this week actually."

"See you then," said James. He shook his head, silently wishing Fabian luck as he headed back toward the floo, his thoughts quickly turning to exactly what Howell was planning to ask him to do, and hoping this Unbreakable Vow business wouldn't make him too late getting home to the kids.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I really enjoyed writing this and I hope you enjoyed reading it. I do want to say that the Abnormal Mind Evaluation is a wizarding version of a psych evaluation. This wasn't named to insult anyone it was named what I thought wizards would name it if they had one. Also you may want to read 'Sacrifices' before chapter four, but chapter five will be confusing without reading it. Please feel free to leave a review on your feelings about the story and different concepts.

I also wanted to announce something else I'm going to try to do. I currently have a story guide for everything I create for the story for my beta. And I am at the point where I am trying to create a general idea of what other wizarding worlds would be like. I will not be including myself because of biases. However, I if you are interested in sharing what your idea of what the wizard world would be like in your country feel free to IM me. It may not show up in this story, but this is going to be a series, so I will eventually use it.

 **Beta: LeighaGreene**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **"Changing Seas"**

 **Chapter 4**

Charlus had tried to convince James that this was a very bad idea. He knew Bridget better then James did right now. He had seen her interacting with other children, and had seen her reactions to anyone trying to 'mother' her. He just knew that meeting her cousins at the Burrow was going to be a disaster. He respected the Weasleys, but Molly's presence wouldn't help the introduction go smoothly. He had suggested it would be better to attempt it at the Longbottoms' instead. Alice and Frank had been around a lot – more than James – and they knew the limits. Bridget made them loud and clear. Their house would be more like neutral ground for the French girl.

"James, you should call this off," Charlus advised his young nephew.

"Look, she has plenty of kids around her age here. It won't be a problem," said James, certain of his choice.

"When hell breaks loose, don't say I didn't warn you," Charlus grumbled, watching Bridget carefully.

Bridget was walking around the living room with her hands stuffed inside her coat pockets, careful not to touch anything. She knew better than that. Who knew if anything was cursed? She liked to think Charlus wouldn't take her somewhere that wasn't safe, but that was no reason to abandon caution. She had grown quite fond of her Great-Uncle. He, unlike everyone else, did not treat her like she was a feeble doll. He treated her like she was young witch. She treasured the respect he gave her. Second to that, she was grateful to have her own clothes back. She felt somewhat normal again, but that in turn felt strange, because she knew nothing would ever really be normal again. She was happy that things would be different now, but sad that everything she knew was gone. And she was not a little angry at the way people were treating her, like she could break any second. Even Charlus had been watching her closely since they reached this place.

"Harry! Posey! Come here for a minute!" called James.

Bridget shot a glare at James. Her ears ached slightly from him yelling, but she said nothing. Charlus gave her a warning look, and Bridget glared at the pictures on the wall, instead. The family of red heads looked so happy in all of them. She didn't understand how one could be so happy all the time. Someone was always unhappy at her for something or another.

"What dad! We were just about to see how can throw a Gnome the farthest," huffed Posey as she stormed down the stairs.

"There is someone I'd like you to meet," smiled James as his other three children arrived.

"Kids this is your cousin Bridget. Bridget that is Harry and Posey," introduced James.

"I thought we didn't have any cousins besides Dumb Dudley," said Posey in her usual rambunctious tone. Bridget was sure the dead could hear her.

"Posey, I know you don't like Dudley, but don't talk about your cousin like that," said James half-heartily.

"It's not very becoming of a Potter," scoffed Charlus.

"I'm handling it," said James scowling.

"You are handling it alright. You are going to make those kids as bratty as you were at their age," retorted Charlus.

"You know if you don't like my parenting then leave. You have no right to judge my parenting," growled James.

Charlus was ready to rip into James for that comment, but he was more conscientious than to do it in front of his kids. But he would do it, later, in private. Charlus didn't like to judge James' parenting, but someone did. Being that Charlus was still the head of the family, not like it meant anything anymore. He didn't want to see James make the same mistakes as his parents, after all. They had caused a lot of issues. Charlus wasn't sure he could ever trust James to take on the political responsibilities of the family and handle them like an adult. He knew James was going through a hard time, but he had to suck it up. Charlus didn't crumble when his wife and son both died. James still had his kids, and being it had been two months and no divorce papers had been finalized, there was still hope for his marriage as well.

"Do you want to throw Gnomes with us?" Harry asked cheerfully.

"No, thank you," said Bridget, her English more clear and her French accent not as pronounced as it had been a month before.

"It's fun," Harry encouraged her.

"Thank you for offering, but I do not find throwing another lifeform gratifying," said Bridget surprising James with her English vocabulary.

Harry rubbed his neck and shifting his feet slightly. He had never thought of Gnomes of being actual living creatures. He just saw them as a form of entrainment. Posey noticed her brother's discomfort and glared at Bridget, who stared with curiosity and annoyance.

"They are meaningless. Pests," said Posey.

"No life is meaningless," replied Bridget, crossing her arms stubbornly. "Once you say one life is meaningless soon many lives are meaningless. We are not judges."

Neither of the kids knew quite how to react to Bridget. Even James was taken aback by her statement. She seemed like a totally different kid. Actually, if he thought about it, she didn't seem like a kid at all. He wasn't quite sure himself how to react to it. Charlus was not surprised one bit. He had spent two months teaching Bridget English and raising her like he once raised his son. He held his tongue and hoped his nephew would keep his temper and his children in check.

"Bridget, why don't you give it go just to give it a try," offered James.

"I will not," said Bridget planting her feet firmly into the floor.

"I promise they won't feel a thing," James said, pointing out the facts. "They quite enjoy it."

"I don't care if they don't feel pain and if they seem to 'enjoy' it. It's wrong to abuse life like that," said Bridget staring right into James eyes.

"I'm guessing your mémé taught you that," interrupted Charlus.

"Of course she did. She taught me everything I know," said Bridget, frowning. She missed her grandmother, despite knowing they weren't related by blood.

"She was a wise woman to teach you that, but sometimes you have to have fun too," reminded Charlus.

"Fine, I'll watch but I refuse to partake in such barbarism," huffed Bridget. "Where are these Gnomes?"

"The garden," said Harry. "Let's go there. Ginny and Ron are already there."

Bridget followed her cousins indignantly. She had very few things she believed that her 'family' had taught her but the value of life was one that she did accept. They taught their children the value of life, so they would not take harming others or killing them lightly. She remembered how her older brother used to cut up frogs until her mémé brought him to the pond to see the tadpoles. Once he saw the baby form of what he was killing, he never did it again. She would never forget that.

-Line Break Here-

The tension between James and Charlus remained high, but things blew over once Arthur arrived. The three men had very interesting discussions about the Ministry and children. Hearing the trouble Arthur's first-year twins, Fred and George, had been causing, James had a feeling that they might have somehow gotten their hands on a certain item that belonged to his group of friends back in the day. He would have to remember to tell Padfoot and Moony.

Dinner came quickly for the three men. Molly had quite a meal planned out. Charlus was extremely gracious as always. Molly seemed to appreciate that. Charlus came from a dying generation of proper gentlemen. Progress was necessary and the equality it brought was a moral thing, but things were being lost.

"There you are. Ginny over here, Harry why don't you sit here. Posey here by your brother. Ron go sit by Ginny. You must be Bridget, quite a dashing young lady, why don't you sit here next to Harry and Posey," said Molly with smile.

"How was work Arthur?" asked Molly as she helped Ginny and Ron dish their food. The Potter children helped themselves, but Bridget did nothing.

"It was good day. We found quite a curious pocket watch. It would tick backwards causing the poor people who owned it to go insane," said Arthur.

"Arthur please keep the details vague," sighed Molly looking at her two youngest children, who weren't paying much attention.

"Bridget, go ahead and serve yourself. You don't need to wait for the host to eat first, it's not a formal dinner," said Charlus, without even looking at the girl.

Bridget slowly gave herself very small portions. She found English food to be very heavy and thick. She had learned that if she ate her usually amount it would make her sick. So she was very careful about how much she took, never having had a lamb roast before.

"Would you like some more, dear?" offered Molly, seeing the fairly empty plate.

"No thank you, I'm quite alright," replied Bridget, slowly eating each section of her plate.

"Alright dear," said Molly trying to mask her disappointment.

"It's nothing personal Molly. She doesn't each much and she's picky too," said Charlus.

"I am not picky," said Bridget, rolling her eyes at her Great-Uncle.

"Just this morning you made me cook your eggs sunny side up because you found the other ways disruptive to the taste," teased Charlus.

"It tastes the best that way. I like my eggs that way," Bridget pouted playfully.

"In all seriousness she's used to lighter food," said Charlus, addressing Molly.

"I'll make a note for myself. I'll remember to cook something else next time she visits," said Molly chirpily turning around writing a quite note then sticking it the Fridge Freezer with a flick of her wand.

"How are you liking England?" asked Molly after several minutes of silence.

"It's alright," said Bridget shrugging.

"It must be quite different form France," said Ron with a mouthful of food.

"Ronald Weasley," scolded Molly.

"What?" asked Ron raising his hands up in the air slightly.

"Close your mouth, it's disgusting," interrupted Posey, getting tired of seeing Ron's food.

"Couldn't have said it better," grinned Bridget.

Charlus couldn't help grinning. He was happy to see Posey and Bridget seemed to have gotten off each other's feet. It was hard for Bridget to leave a sister behind she loved, and Charlus could only do so much to help her. What she needed was a proper mother-like-figure and sister-like friends. He truly cared for Bridget and wanted the best for her. He knew James did too, but right now James wasn't objective. He had his own kids, a struggling marriage and a high stress job. Charlus didn't blame him for that, but someone had to act on Bridget's best interests, not their own.

"So what is your favourite thing to do here?" asked Molly, trying to spark up conversation with Bridget.

"I enjoy reading, but I guess all the different Quidditch teams are cool. I have more fun playing football with the other kids around than Quidditch. Not that I don't like it, but I've known it my entire life. I didn't know much about football until recently," replied Bridget, not wanting to seem like she disliked Quidditch.

"Oh really, I didn't know there were muggles around where you are?" said Arthur to Charlus with interest.

"To be honest there are more wizards than muggles. We have the Browns, Parkinsons and Patils near-by. She spends quite a bit of time with the Browns and Patils, but I think she learned about football from the Bones. Of course, we do go into the muggle village and she has friends there, but it's more like she goes there and plays with them than maybe she'll see them again," Charlus clarified.

"Do you visit the Bones often?" asked James. He had no idea what his uncle actually did with Bridget all day.

"At least once a week, but I've had Bridget sneak over there a few times on her own. She isn't too fond of all the aurors around," said Charlus.

"Bridget! They are there to protect you!" scolded James.

"You can send all the protection in the world, but if they want to find me they will," said Bridget, scowling at James "I want to be left alone and having no one watching my ever move. It isn't natural!"

"It doesn't matter if it makes your uncomfortable, you have to do it," said James firmly.

"Non! You aren't listening to me! I know them, not you. You can get only so much from history books on pure-blood European families. Books don't capture the truth, it's all filtered. If they were going to come after me they would have already. But after the other two got caught they won't come back here, they wouldn't want to be caught up in a scandal let alone an international one," Bridget snapped, her accent becoming noticeably more French.

James' face was starting to go red. Charlus rolled his eyes at James. He had no idea how to deal with the girl. She was nothing like Posey or Harry, and he had to learn that, otherwise the two of them would always be fighting. She wasn't an innocent child who did everything she was told. James was lucky to have grown up in a good home with a family with virtuous values. He never had to see the horrors of the world until he was an adult. He was able to trust people without thinking twice. Bridget had already seen more in her nine short years than James had all through Hogwarts.

"James, cool off," Charlus interrupted, refusing to let this go further. "You can't blame the girl for wanting some peace and quiet. The aurors are unnecessary. I'm more than capable of protecting her on my own. She is right about this particular family. You've never dealt with them in person, but I have, a long time back. She knows what she is talking about. I have custody of her and I don't have any problem with her going over there without me. However, I would prefer if she told me so I don't scare the aurors half to death asking if they've seen her."

Bridget nodded, glad that her current guardian had supported her. Posey and Harry had no idea what was going on. They didn't get a lot of what was happening in their lives. They didn't know why their mum was gone or where she was. They didn't know how they could suddenly have a cousin who lived with Great Uncle Charlus. They surely didn't understand their father right now. They just continued to eat and watched the spectacle. The Weasley kids were equally confused, and Arthur and Molly were exchanging significant looks.

"Gentlemen why don't we finish up eating and listen to the WWN News Hour," offered Arthur, breaking the tense silence that followed Charlus' announcement.

"That sounds great. I'm not able to find out what's going on any other way," grumbled James. He was starting to hate his assignment. He wasn't around to bug Amelia for information. Amelia wasn't going out of her way to get information either. If he didn't know better he'd say Amelia was trying to cut him out of the loop.

"Its best you aren't involved. The Ministry has enough to handle in international relations," replied Charlus.

"So they tell you, not me," growled James, angry that the Auror Department would do that to him.

"Yes, they have to tell me. I'm also I'm retired besides for my work in the Wizengamot. You have your own job to do," explained Charlus coolly. The last thing he needed was James getting in the way of doing the right thing for Bridget.

Arthur led the two men away to the living room. Molly sighed as she levitated the dishes into the sink. The four kids ran back outside to find something to do that was bound to be more fun than whatever the adults would be doing. They didn't care one bit about the news. Bridget followed them at a slower pace, unwilling to spend any more time with James, even to hear the news.

"What can you tell me on what they are doing currently?" asked James before Arthur could even get the radio station on.

"Amelia is unbearable right now because Fudge has worked out a deal with the French Minister to make all of this disappear. They have lost any contact they had with Jennifer, which was very little to begin with. Not even family friends have seen in her in a few weeks now. Amelia is trying to still work out a way to get them on the laws on international treatment of wizarding children. I doubt she will be able to get enough evidence. They are a problem without a doubt, but I think Amelia has scared them off with all the threats of a lawsuit, at least for now," said Charlus.

"Why would they care about a lawsuit if they want her dead?" spat James, furious that the Minister of Magic would let them get away with this.

"In France, reputation is everything. They will lose status if all the bones in their closets are unburied," said Charlus.

"Why have they lost contact?" asked Arthur "the news has been traveling around the DLME faster than you can Quidditch."

"Howell didn't say. They suspect there is something or someone stopping owls from coming in and out. Right now they are trying to push the French Ministry to investigate, but they aren't cooperating," said Charlus "if Amelia can't get them on the Act 12 of the International Treatment of Wizarding Citizens she is going after Act 5."

"What are Act 12 and Act 5 again?" asked James unable, to recall the entire ITWC Treaty of 1918.

"Act 12 in a simple version protects wizarding children in all ICW countries being abused, neglected, or arranged in marriages. Act 5 protects wizarding children in all ICW countries from being attacked in duels, kept unwillingly, and/or brought back to their home country for a trial unless being charged using the Unforgivables or murder," Charlus recited from memory.

"Why would she go after Act 5?" asked James.

"Hoping to use it on whatever happened with Jennifer that she ended up in France to begin with. I've tried to search the records to see if a marriage contract existed, but I haven't found anything," Charlus sighed.

James couldn't think straight anymore. It was too much. He had never thought of Jennifer being forced to stay in France. He had to get those letters from Lily. They might be just what Amelia needed for the case. He had no idea how he was going to get her to give them to him without naming Marlene as the source about the letters. He accepted a firewhisky from Molly without a second's thought.

* * *

"Come on! It's over here!" Ron called back to the sluggish quartet behind him.

After walking for what felt like forever the kids arrived a small pond with a large willow tree at the edge of the water. All five children had discarded their shoes and jackets, and dangled their feet in the water. Ron and Harry tried skipping rocks, which neither of them did very well. Posey and Ginny were now following Bridget around the area surrounding the pond. Bridget ran a hand through the sagging leaves, completely fascinated by the tree. She found a knot in the trunk where she was able to get enough of a jump to climb onto the lowest branch that hovered over the water.

"What are you doing? You're going to fall!" said Posey, crossing her arms and looking up at Bridget.

"You worry too much," said Bridget, rolling her eyes. "This branch could hold all five of us."

"Don't be such a spoil sport," said Ginny following Bridget.

Posey refused to follow Ginny up the tree and sulked off next to Harry and Ron. Bridget and Ginny looked down at the boys and giggled as they threw small dead branches at them making them lose aim and splashing them. Posey quickly moved away from the water and hid on the other side of the tree, leaning against it and falling asleep to the quietness of the countryside.

An ear-piercing scream made Bridget fall from the branch into the pond, soaking Harry and Ron with her splash. Ron swore like a sailor pushing the water out of his eyes. Harry tried with no avail to dry off his glasses, eventually giving up to help Bridget out of the water.

"Why did you splash me!" yelled Ron.

"It was an accident," said Bridget picking up a strong French accent again as her teeth started to chatter.

"How could you be so stupid to sit up there," snapped Ron.

"Don't call my cousin stupid!" yelled Harry, glaring at Ron.

Bridget, who was ignoring both boys, joined Ginny at the tree. They peered around it to find it was Posey who had screamed. She was tossing and turning in a dream. The boys were too busy arguing to notice.

"We should get my mum and dad," said Ginny, a moment too late as Bridget shook Posey slightly trying to wake her up. "You shouldn't have done that. Mum says it is bad to wake up someone during a nightmare."

"Cousine Posey, wake," said Bridget not caring about her English. She was truly, honestly worried about Posey. She knew about nightmares very well, but most nightmares didn't make people scream in their sleep. The only person she knew to do that was Marguerite, her sister, who had really bad things that happened to her that made her have them. Bridget doubted that Posey had those types of dreams.

"Once temptation is too strong, an exchange of coin shall bring forth an end to the monarchy and the end of wealth. Upon the day the darkness rises once more, a proposition shall bring an end to the monarchy and an era of sorrow. When the sky is thick with water, children of darkness shall cause an aeon of fortune. When the time comes that the sky turns red, a broken bone shall usher forth a vicious war," recited Posey in French, her voice distant and wispy.

Bridget retracted her hand, stepping back in surprise and fear. Une prévoyance! She had heard of such things before, in France. She had never heard of touch triggering it before, though, and the words frightened her. War and an era of sorrow? She didn't like the sound of it. And she didn't understand why it was in French not English, as if it was only meant for her to hear.

"Harry does your sister know another language?" asked Ginny.

Harry and Ron had come over when they heard the strange language being spoken. Curiosity had gotten the best of them. Ron was dazed, unsure of what to make of it. Harry rubbed his neck, feeling a really bad headache coming on.

"No," said Harry "I don't think so."

"What did she say? Do you know?" asked Ginny.

"It was in French. I think we really should go back now," said Bridget.

"What time is it?" asked Posey, waking up out her dream and rubbing her eyes.

"Dunno," said Ron.

"Come on, let's go back," said Ginny.

Bridget put her coat back on, glad for the heating charm that her brother had put on it, and silently walked ahead of the group. Ron was calling out to her which way to go. Her mind kept drifting back to what she heard. She shivered in the cool autumn air despite no longer being the littlest bit cold.

"What happened?" whispered Posey to the quiet trio next to her.

"You were talking in your sleep," replied Ginny. Ron shrugged, having nothing else to say. Harry wasn't paying attention to their conversation, but watching Bridget instead.

"Harry! Harry!" called Posey in the loudest whisper she could make without Bridget hearing.

"What?" said Harry loudly making Posey glare at him. She didn't want Bridget to know the four of them were talking.

"What happened?" whispered Posey in a very hushed tone.

"You sort of spoke in your sleep, but your voice was weird. Bridget said it was in French, then she insisted we go back the Burrow," replied Harry, lowering his voice.

The hairs on the back of Bridget's neck stood up. She didn't need to be genius to figure out they were talking about her. She was used to people talking about her behind her back. The girls at Beauxbatons did that a lot, especially the older ones. She could feel their eyes on her. It didn't matter.

The leaning house was in her sight now. They were almost there. She had to tell Uncle Charlus. He would know what to do.

"Why are you soaking wet?" asked Charlus looking at Bridget's dripping hair.

"Never mind me. Posey une devineresse," announced Bridget loudly.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I'm trying to do two chapters a week right now to get this done quicker. However this may not happen, it all depends. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I would really appreciate reviews. I am still looking for anyone who wants to send me any ideas of what they thinking the magical world be in their country.

Sorry it was taken down for a few. I had a quick change.

 **Beta:** **LeighaGreene**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing

 **"Changing Seas"**

 **Chapter 5**

"Sebastian, take your sister and run soon as the shield comes down. Don't come back no matter what you hear or see. Run as fast as you, get as far as you can. Don't look back. Go to Auror Simon. Don't stop running and don't trust anyone. He'll keep you safe," said Jennifer hugging her eleven-year-old son, who would have been going to Beauxbatons as a boarding student for the first time if his father hadn't snapped and became a raving lunatic towards the end of August.

"Why can't you come?" asked Sebastian, his voice cracking.

"Mummy has to protect you from your father. You can trust Auror Simon. He'll take you to Bridget, I promise," said Jennifer slowly releasing her son.

"Bridget is dead," Sebastian said, forcing back the tears in his eyes.

"No, she is alive. I faked her death. She is with your Uncle James. Her daddy will take care you two, I know he will. You need to take this with you," said Jennifer giving him a roll up piece of parchment. With a flick of her wand the parchment shrunk and she stuffed it into his backpack.

"Come here, Maggie," said Jennifer leaning down to hug her ten-year-old daughter. She kissed her forehead. Silent tears rolled down her cheek. Why had she waited so long?

"But mummy, I don't want you to stay," Maggie whined, clutching two dolls to her chest.

"I have to. One day when you are grown and have children you'll understand why I did this," said Jennifer, wiping the tears from her own face. Now was no time for weakness.

"I'm scared, mummy," said Maggie, hoping this was all a nightmare and would end.

"It's okay to be scared. But I need you to promise me something," said Jennifer.

"Okay mummy," said Maggie.

"Don't ever stop believing I love you. I wish I could have protected you better. Nothing was ever your fault, it was mine. Don't ever think any of this was because of you. And for Merlin's sake don't ever tell your sister it's all her fault, she didn't cause this. It was my mistakes. I'm sorry it had to be this way," said Jennifer holding her daughter so she had to look her straight in the eyes "Please listen to your brother and Uncle when you finally meet him. Promise me, Marguerite"

"I promise," whispered Marguerite. It was all Bridget's fault, no matter what mummy said. She wished her sister had never existed.

Jennifer tapped the dolls with her wand shrinking them so they fit into her daughter's backpack. She pulled out a small box and shoved that into the backpack as well. "There is a watch for your brother, and bracelets for you two girls. When hope is lost just believe it will protect you and it will when you need it most."

Maggie flung her arms around her mother for the last time. The slamming of the front door made Jennifer push the girl away. Sebastian grabbed his sister's hand tightly.

"I love you both. Sebastian take care of them. Be strong. Trust Uncle James, Marcus and their friends. Be a kid for once," said Jennifer shoving the two children out the back door. She walked back into the kitchen taking a deep breath. She knew this was the day she was going to die. She was not afraid. She was sad that she would never see James again, or meet his kids, or be with Marcus one last time, or go home. She had written one last letter to James and one to Bridget. She told the owl to wait for the shield to go down and to stay with Bridget. She knew it was quite a trip for the owl. He wasn't as young as he once was.

No matter what he screamed at her, no matter what curses he used, she wouldn't break. She could do this for her kids. They deserved a life. If she had to die for it, she would. "They are dead I tell you. They will not be hurt again," she lied, over and over, no matter how intense the curses felt. She screamed, but only in reflex to the torture. She wasn't going to break. She told herself that every time a new curse struck. She felt herself starting to drift away. The last thing she did was raise her wand. Flames shot out, spreading from where they fell, until the entire kitchen was alight.

"I'm sorry, James. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me," Jennifer whispered to herself as all that remained of her floated away into the next journey.

Sebastian froze as the entire chateau was engulfed in flames. He just knew his mum had planned this. Silent tears rolled down his cheeks. He knew she was dead, and so was his father. He hoped that his father burned in hell for this. He would never forgive that monster. The sobs of his little sister brought him back to what mattered now. He grabbed her hand and ran into the forest.

* * *

"Shut up!" shouted Bridget, banging on the wall that connected to Ginny's room.

Bridget hadn't been able to focus on reading since she arrived at the Weasleys. Charlus and James had been called to France for some reason leaving Bridget, Harry and Posey with the Weasleys. Ron and Harry were rooming together while Posey roomed with Ginny. This left Bridget alone, and Molly had put her up in Percy's room since it was the cleanest. Bridget was gracious, but she hated staying in a boy's room.

"Belt it!" Posey yelled back, slamming the door open.

"I'll shut up if you two will stop squealing at those stupid magazines. I'm trying to work on homework Uncle Charlus gave me," spat Bridget swinging Percy's door open.

"They aren't stupid!" cried Ginny from inside.

"Oh grow up," muttered Bridget under her breath.

"Stop being a bitch," said Posey.

"It takes one to know one," said Bridget stepping into the hallway with her arms crossed and slamming the door shut.

"Go back to where you belong. No one wants you. No wonder your parents kicked you out," said Posey, stepping into the hall as well. Ginny held the door peering anxiously down and up the staircase, expecting Ron or her mum to show up any minute now.

"Pathetic! You think you know everything. You know nothing. You are nothing but a spoiled brat. I have a right to speak my mind. No wonder you don't have any friends," said Bridget her nostrils flaring fighting back the tears.

"You don't have friends either!" Posey said crossing her arms.

"You don't know anything about me. I have plenty of friends, and I met them without anyone telling me who to like or not like or how to act appropriately," Bridget snapped, rolling her eyes.

"You think you're better than anyone else. I think you're just a waste of space. Why don't you just disappear? You ruin everything!" Posey shouted, tears streaming down her face. As soon as Bridget showed up, mum wasn't around anymore and dad was working all the time. It had to be her fault.

"You call that an insult. You insulted yourself," said Bridget opening back the door. Before she went back into the room she decided to do the most unladylike thing she could think to do. She gave Posey the bird, something she had learned from her mum when she drank. Jennifer didn't drink all that often, but enough for Bridget to pick up on what it meant.

Posey, on the other hand, had no idea. She stood in the hall for a good half a minute, utterly confused. She couldn't figure out how she insulted herself, and she had no idea what that weird hand gesture meant. It was probably some rude French thing, she decided, and mimicked it toward Bridget's now-closed door before returning to Ginny and their magazines.

-Line Break-

James and Charlus were only gone for three days, but that was enough for Molly. She felt like she was constantly yelling at Bridget and Posey to stop screaming at each other or swearing. She had never had as much trouble with all of her boys home at the same time as she did with Posey and Bridget together. She was glad Ginny wasn't such a girly girl as the Potter girls were.

"I hope they behaved," said James taking a cup of tea from Molly looking completely drained.

"Harry was fine. But those girls…I'm glad Ginny didn't join in on their fighting. They said such horrible things to each other. Neither really mean it, but it upsets Ginny," sighed Molly. "She's always wanted a sister or female cousin. Seeing the girls acting like that…I'm sure you get the picture."

James ignored most of what Molly said, focusing on the fact that the girls had been a problem. He couldn't imagine it was Posey's fault: his little angel knew better than to misbehave for Molly. He glowered at his teacup. No matter where they took Bridget, she always caused trouble. After all he had seen what happened to her mother and siblings.

"I can't help Bridget cannot behave," he grumbled.

"Don't talk about your niece like that," warned Charlus "I am her guardian not you. You saw those pictures, it's not surprising Bridget would hold her own in argument or fight."

James glowered at Charlus. His stomach still turned at the thought of the photographs of his ten-year-old niece's body. They had tortured the young girl, then killed her in such a horrific manner he couldn't even bear to remember. The French healers had told James and Charlus it was best they did kill her, because she would have been brain dead from the curses they used to torture her. He didn't understand why the French Ministry let the Voclains get away with such graphic murders and others acts of violence. It was unspeakable what they did to the girl, but there was no word for how despicable it was making the older boy watch them torture her too. He had been cursed as well, just enough to keep him from remembering who attacked them, but not quite enough to kill him or damage him permanently.

"What pictures?" asked Molly.

"They first called us to France because Jennifer and that tosser she called her husband were killed in a bloody fire. They are saying Jennifer started it, but they know there were some nasty curses and hexes used by him. Then right as we were getting ready to come back they found the two other kids. Someone from that family killed the girl. The boy is alive and transferred to St. Mungo's," explained James.

"The poor boy," gasped Molly. "How are you going to tell Bridget?"

There was loud stomping on the staircase as someone was running down or up. Charlus looked quickly to see who it was. He caught a glimpse of curly, bright red hair disappearing up the stairs.

"It looked like it was Posey," said Charlus. Molly went very pale, knowing that Posey was very capable taunting Bridget using that information.

"What?" James asked, looking at Molly.

"She might just say something to Bridget," warned Molly carefully.

"Posey would never do that! I don't know about Bridget, but Posey would never do that!" snapped James.

"Well Posey is the one that seems to escalate the argument to the next level. That's just what I've been dealing with it," said Molly glaring at James for his unmistakable blindness to the lack of proper behaviour in his children.

Charlus silenced James before he could say something stupider than usual. He swore the boy would never grow up or learn. He left James to turn tomato red at being unable to speak and went upstairs to stop the girls from fighting. He arrived in just enough time to catch Posey before she slammed into a wall. He couldn't help gawking at Bridget, who was completely engulfed in fire, but seemed completely unbothered by it. She slammed Percy's door closed and when Harry tried to open the door he jumped back holding his hand. It had hurt a lot more than the time he accidently knocked a hot frying pan off the stove giving him a nasty burnt on his arm. The door handle felt even hotter than that, though he knew that was impossible.

"Aguamenti," Charlus cast before the handle completely melted and no one would have a way in or out of that room.

"Get in that room and stay there!" Charlus bellowed at Posey. Harry and Ron quickly hightailed it out of there. Charlus was a gentle and quiet man, and it was completely terrifying seeing him angry. Out of reflex Posey started to wail, but that wouldn't work on a man like Charlus, who had seen just how bad it was to let such behaviour slip by. "You are a completely egotistical, big-headed and thoughtless child! I don't know what your parents taught you but that is completely unacceptable and unforgiveable! Do you even think? How would you feel if I told you that all you had left was your brother! You just don't think, just like your father! As the Head of the House of Potter I find this repulsive! Never once in my life have I seen a young girl treat her own cousin so poorly!

"Quit crying! How do you think Bridget feels! Get in that bloody room!" snapped Charlus pushing Posey into Ginny's room and letting Ginny out while holding back the fighting girl. Then he locked her in. He wanted to march down and give James the kick in the arse he deserved, but he was sensible enough, even in his anger, to track down and take care of Harry first, who luckily only had a minor burn thanks to his good reflexes.

"Leave her be," Charlus warned the boys. Both of them nodded their heads furiously. "And stay here. Ginny," he called, "Come up here with the boys for a bit."

Storming back downstairs, Charlus looked ready to kill. He was glad to find that Molly hadn't reversed the spell on James. He didn't want any problems with the Weasleys. At least the Prewett family had taught their children not to interfere with business of other families. Fleamont had walked a dangerous line with the Blacks when he took in Sirius. Thankfully that had never caused the Potters major trouble with the Blacks. His brother already had enough to answer for when it came to the way he had raised James.

When Fleamont refused to even raise a hand to James, Charlus knew the boy was going to end up being a very arrogant young man with little self-control. It turned out he was right. If anyone knew how to raise proper children was him. His own son had turned out to be a great young man who lost his life too soon for standing his ground on his beliefs. Charlus refused to deal with another James in the family. He would not allow the future heirs of the House of Potter act like horrible brats well into adulthood. He reversed the spell wordlessly.

"Shut up and sit down!" Charlus shouted before James could even get up or say a word. "I'm only saying this once, so you better hear it now, otherwise we are going to be dealing a lawyer next."

"What gives you the power to threaten me?" muttered James under his breath.

"I'm the Head of the House. I have all the power to do whatever I want, but I refrain from it because my parents taught me self-control and how to keep my head out of my arse," scolded Charlus as if talking to a young teenage boy. Molly scowled out the window at Charlus' language, but kept on washing dishes. She knew better to interfere in family business.

"That girl is completely out of control. She needs some serious discipline or she's going to end up getting herself killed. Most people that grew up in a home like the Voclains would have just killed her a few moments ago. I wouldn't doubt that boy would have cursed her for such imprudence. If you don't believe me, look though that big head of yours and see it in your past. Certainly the enemies you made came back to get you in the end, and your actions as your younger self nearly caused not only your demise, but the demise of your family. Get yourself together and act like a father or else I will do something myself, and you won't like it!" Charlus' voice was as strong as ever as he waved his shaking hands around. He was too angry to yell anymore.

The entire Burrow went silent for the first time since the war. It would have been possible to hear a pin fall in that moment. Charlus didn't say another word. He went upstairs and fetched Bridget, who was thankfully no longer on fire, and took her back to the Potter manor. James remained where his uncle had left him, his hands clenching the chair arms to prevent himself from going after Charlus. He was too angry to control himself.

* * *

The next time the Potters were seen together was the day of the funeral. Charlus had managed to get Jennifer's and her daughter's bodies returned to England for burial, and they were going to be laid to rest in the family cemetery.

Charlus was struggling to get Bridget to come to the ceremony. Since she had heard the news, she only came out of her room at night, stopped talking to anyone and ate only enough to stay alive. She sat in her room alone mostly in the dark all day. Mind healers couldn't anywhere near her without their robes catching fire or being thrown into a wall. Aurors could get near if they wanted to, but Amelia had ordered them to leave her alone. If anyone in the world could truly understood what it was like to lose family horribly, it was Amelia and Edgar. Edgar was the only one who had been able to speak to her, and the one who had gotten her to eat. No one else could get close enough or a response out of her.

Sebastian, her brother, would be at the funeral, but had refused to speak to her, only sliding a note to her under the door. Even that did not tempt her to come out.

"Where is Bridget?" Alice asked Charlus, looking out through the large crowd that had gathered mostly out of respect for the family. Everyone who knew Jennifer personally thought she had died years ago.

"She refuses to leave her room. It may best if she doesn't come out. After seeing her the last time she was around Posey, they shouldn't be let anywhere near each other," said Charlus, eyeing James and his kids near the front of the crowd.

"Lily screamed at Posey for nearly an hour after she found out. I'm sure you've heard about her poor relationship with her sister, Petunia. Lily rarely ever raises her voice, but she was devastated to hear her daughter would do that to a young girl that was going through so much already. That's pretty much how Petunia had told her that her parents had died, so it really hit a nerve," sighed Alice "James and Lily had a huge blow up over it too."

"At least one of them has a head on them," Charlus grumbled, glaring at James.

"I really think Lily and James need to give it another go. This isn't working," said Marlene, appearing from somewhere within the crowd.

"I'd like to see you try to get them into the same room, let alone with a marriage counsellor right now," huffed Frank, whom was standing behind Alice. He was trying not to lose Neville, who had tendency to wander. He had tried to do just that himself, knowing that Jennifer would have wanted to do it if she had been here. He had nearly ended up in St. Mungo's attempting it.

"Jennifer would be grateful you tried. I can only imagine the curses she wants to use on James right now," said Charlus, knowing very well what Jennifer would have done if she was here right now. She had turned out fairly well despite the lack of discipline. She had more expectations being a girl, but despite that she had been a decent model for pureblood girls, she certainly had flaws in her code of ethics time to time. Charlus might have been willing to turn a blind eye if she had turned up out of the blue to hex her brother and his children into line.

"We'll go check on her. It's worth a shot," offered Frank. Alice smiled up at Frank in agreement. Frank could easily rest his chin on Alice's head, though he would never dare. Alice was just over five feet tall and that Frank was six feet or a little over, a fact that was more noticeable than usual today because she was wearing sandals instead of her usual Auror's boots. Neville stumbled behind his parents, not wanting to be left alone in the crowd of mostly strangers.

"It would not be wise to bring him with," warned Charlus.

"Don't worry about it. He's fine," said Alice waving Charlus off with one hand and catching the back of Neville's jacket with the other. Despite the fact Neville was ten-years-old he was just as clumsy as he had been as a toddler. It didn't help that he was so nervous around a crowd this large. Alice blamed Frank's mother for terrorizing him with stories of the attacks that used to happen in large gatherings at the Ministry in times of war. [I like this addition!]

Frank knocked on the plain white door that still had 'Jennifer' written on it with Stiko-Glitter. Whenever Jennifer was upset with her parents or just wanting to get away Frank always knew that he could find her with her uncle, aunt and cousin.

"Bridget, its Alice and Frank. Do you remember us?" said Alice. "We were friends of your mother you know. We just want to know you're okay."

"Leave me alone," replied Bridget in French, her voice strained from crying.

"At least she's alive," muttered Frank under his breath. Alice elbowed him and glared. Frank ruffled Neville's hair as he watch his parents curiously. Neville wasn't sure if he was supposed to say anything or not.

"Hiding isn't a good solution dear. You are going to have to come out eventually," said Alice.

There was shuffling behind the door. Alice looked over at Frank, who was just much at a loss. Neville was an easy child, and neither of them new how to deal with a little girl. Alice took Neville and let Frank try to talk to her. Neville was dragged his feet, wanting to stay with his dad, but Alice refused to let him. Neville wanted to why his parents cared so much about a random little girl he's never even heard mentioned before today let alone met.

Frank sat on the floor, talking to the girl he hoped was listening on the other side of the door. "A long time ago I remember talking to your mother this same way after her cousin was murdered," he said softly. "She was miserable after losing him. He was everything to her when they were teenagers. She was closer to Andon than James, who I have to say was an awful child and teenager. Your mother tried to run from her troubles and it cost her much more than her happiness."

Frank couldn't help thinking that he could have saved Jennifer, if only he had known the truth. He would have done anything to keep Jennifer being dragged into an arranged marriage. Andon was keeping the marriage contract from happening, he knew that now that Alice had gotten Lily to give him the letters to give to James. He couldn't resist opening them. He had had to know what was going through her head.

"Just know your mother would be proud of you no matter if you come out today or not. I know you're angry more than anything. They don't see that you are not one of the Voclains. You have some of the best traits from your parents and one day you'll show them all wrong. After all, your parents defied what their families set for them. You will too. The Daily Prophet is codswallop truly," said Frank.

"It's their fault they're dead," said Bridget in French.

Frank didn't reply because he was also blaming the Prophet. But he didn't want to encourage her to do something stupid or tell her that she was wrong. Because in the bigger picture she was right. That article went international and was causing a lot of ruckus and so were the murders. Nothing seemed to stop the Daily Prophet.

"There is one way to show them wrong you know," said Frank leaving Bridget to her thoughts.

No one came by to see Bridget after that. She threw a flower vase at the wall. She hated the Daily Prophet. She hated how the Potters were playing into their hands. Her mother would be rolling over in her coffin to know what they were doing. She wasn't going to stand for this. Frank was right. There was only one way to end this. She was going out there and telling them all off. This was a funeral not a media exploit. She was not going to bring the Daily Prophet any more money.

The funeral was just starting when Bridget came out. Everyone stopped and stared. Bridget ignored them all and took the microphone from the Minister of Magic, leaving him standing in shock.

"This is stupid," Bridget said, emotion tinging her voice with French. "People are murdered all the time. This isn't what my mum would want nor would Marguerite. My mum would rather have people remember her for who she was, not how she died. Marguerite would hate this amount of attention. None of you knew my sister and you are parading her death. My mum would be screaming at all of you for using her as a pawn. She always complained at large funerals, saying it was a political game making a big deal out certain family members. And whomever planned this should have known she would have never wanted this, and for all the reporters here, because I know you are here: Keep your quills out of my business and stop using my brother and me for your own profits. Here you go Minister, enjoy."

Charlus scowled not only at James, but at himself. It had been James that had pushed to play into the Daily Prophet to get them to shut up, but he could have prevented this. Neither of them asked the kids what they wanted. They had made a huge mistake.

Bridget sat alone, all the way in the back of the gathering. She glared crossly at James and Charlus. This whole huge funeral had to be their idea. She rolled her eyes as the Minister of Magic cleared his throat and tried to pick up his speech where she had interrupted him. She sat staring at the coffins until heard movement next to her. Then she finally pried her eyes away from her mother and sister. She saw a boy around Harry's age holding out a daisy flower, which was definitely not in season being it the beginning of winter. She furrowed her eyebrows, wondering where the boy found the flower.

"Why are you holding a flower out?" asked Bridget not taking her eyes off the boy trying to figure him out.

"That's what my dad does when my mum is upset," said the boy.

"What does that matter?" asked Bridget harshly.

The boy turned pink, but didn't run away like Bridget wanted. "You're a girl and so is my mum, so you must like flowers too." [This scene is brilliant. I love your Neville.]

Over on the other side, Marlene elbowed Alice while looking around making sure there wasn't trouble and her kids were behaving. Alice wacked Frank's shoulder nodding towards Bridget. Frank ginned looking at his son trying to give his goddaughter a flower then whispered something in Alice's ear that made her smack him in the chest so loudly people looked back at them. Marlene had to hold in her laughter watching Alice glaring back at the women glaring at her. Frank ignored them watching Neville and Bridget. He smiled as Bridget took the flower and Neville sat next to her. He had taught his son well.

James didn't seem to change at all after Bridget made her statement. His expression didn't change as the different people spoke. He refused to speak himself. He had nothing to say. The letters didn't really change a thing about how he felt. He didn't know what he was feeling to begin with. What was worse: thinking your sister died peacefully from an illness, or the truth that she was murdered? He wasn't sure which hurt more. Bridget glared at him nearly the entire funeral, until there were only a few guests remaining. She disappeared shortly after the Longbottoms left.

"Can I please go talk to her?" asked Harry.

"Fine, I don't care," replied James, staring off in space.

"You better apologize," muttered Harry to Posey. Posey scowled at her brother as he yanked her from her chair next to her father.

"You should have said something. She would have you wanted you too," said a female voice from behind James.

"Lily, I told you not to come" said James.

"And I told you I was sorry. I wouldn't have done it if I had known the truth. I thought it was someone making an awful joke. And I was only stopping them when we were living together, so someone else had to be stopping the rest. I found them all in the house after Halloween," said Lily, glancing at the caretakers getting ready to move the coffins. She felt terrible for hiding those letters. She wished she had just given to them to him, even if it had been someone playing a terrible joke on James. She could see how much pain he was in.

"It doesn't matter, does it? It doesn't change a damn thing," said James, getting up and stumbling towards the manor.

Lily stared after him, concern written over her face. She had seen the signs for weeks, but she couldn't believe it at first. She tried to ignore them and explain them away, but she couldn't deny it anymore. James was definitely drinking again. He had stopped drinking when they had Harry because of this very reason. It made him into such an angry and depressed person. She had been worried about James ever since she had told him she wanted to separate. Just because she wasn't happy married to him anymore didn't mean she didn't care about the man who was the father of her children, who had been such a large part of her life for so long. She was even more worried now. She followed James into the house. She wasn't going to leave him like this. And it wasn't just for the kids that she didn't leave.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Thanks for reading this chapter and feel free to leave feedback. Now updated to the editing version. I would recommend reading Sacrifices and my new one-shot, Pandora's Hope. I will have my next chapter out after Christmas. It is going to be Lily/James themed and Christmas themed.

The poll is set up for the Changing Seas sequel ideas. The poll ends when the last chapter is posted.

 **Beta:** LeighaGreene


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